Soybeans Rise to One-Week High as Demand for U.S. Supply Climbs

Soybeans rose to a one-week high in Chicago, topping $13 a bushel, on signs demand is increasing for supplies from the U.S., the world’s second-biggest exporter.

U.S. export sales of soybeans climbed to 1.38 million metric tons in the week ended Nov. 14, up 51 percent from the prior week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. China, the world’s top importer, bought 84 percent of the total. Soybeans fell 7.4 percent this year as global production may climb to a record 283.5 million tons, spurred by an expected jump in South American output, the USDA estimates.

"The U.S. soybean harvest is nearing completion and we see strong nearby demand for beans," Jonathan Lane, a trading manager at Gleadell Agriculture Ltd. in Gainsborough, England, said in an e-mailed report today. "In South America plantings continue and currently there are no major problems reported."

Soybeans for January delivery increased 1 percent to $13.0475 a bushel by 7:14 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier the price touched $13.06, the highest since Nov. 15. Prices are set to gain 1.9 percent this week.

Dry, warm weather this weekend and early next week may allow fieldwork in Brazil, while soil moisture is ample after recent rain, DTN said. Brazil is the world’s top soybean exporter, according to the USDA, which pegs the country’s harvest at a record 88 million tons.

Corn for March delivery advanced 0.2 percent to $4.305 a bushel, little changed this week. U.S. exporters sold 982,726 tons of the grain in the week ended Nov. 14, down 18 percent from a week earlier. Wheat for March delivery rose 0.3 percent to $6.57 a bushel, heading for a 0.4 percent gain this week.

Milling wheat for January delivery lost 0.2 percent to 206.25 euros ($279) a ton on NYSE Liffe in Paris. Earlier the price climbed to 208 euros, the highest for a most-active contract since June.

Morocco Duty

Morocco suspended a wheat import duty for Jan. 1 to April 30, the country’s customs authority said today. France is the biggest supplier of wheat to the North African country, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Licenses to export soft wheat from the European Union totaled 10.62 million tons since the marketing year began July 1, 56 percent higher than at the same time last year, according to data released yesterday by the bloc.